Springfield Tour

[Gene C]

Here is a breif caption for the photo's. the tour was quite crowded and it was difficult to get good pictures. The light inside the house was not very bright.

1 & 2 - Sign in front of Loncoln Home. It's a pretty large sign. This may be more readable - http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=48317

3 & 4 - Front and rear of Lincoln Home. The entire block in both directions has been restored to look like it did when the Lincoln's lived here. Most of the homes are park offices, with one for a congressional representative. Fido indicated the large tree in the front was his favorite and, Mr. Lincoln did not have a green thumb when it came to planting trees.

5, 6,7 & 8. The front parlor where guest were entertained. Picture 8 best shows the colors of the room. #6, Best photo we could get of the Lincoln What Not shelf. The shiny object on the floor in front of it is a large shell.

9, 10 & 11 Lincoln's Bedroom. Quite colorfull wall paper and carpet. Mary did not like the small desk in the room, and tried to get rid of it. This is where Mr. Lincoln wrote many of his letters and speeches.

12, 13, 14 & 15. Mary's room. Her room was the only one with a chamber pot. Very colorful wall paper and carpet. I'd have headaches if this were my room too! There is a green dress accross her bed. The color, used a dye that contained arsenic known as Sheele's Green. Commonly used during this time for dying clothes, wall paper and paint. The fumes it gave off could cause very unpleasant side effects. For more info about this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheele%27s_Green

16, 17, 18 & 19. The Kitchen, by our standard, a bit small in size. No refrigerator or microwave to take up space. Not much in the way of countertops or cabinets. The stove was a recent purchase for the Lincoln's. Note the decorative design. A luxury back then.

20 & 21. Hired Girls Room. According to Mary, good help is hard to find. About the size of a walk in closet. Upstairs, only Mary and Abraham's rooms had wallpaper.

Special thanks to Chuck Hand on our tour. He knew several of the park personnel, and we were able to see many things the general public does not get to. It really made the tour special.